Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference
Teaching, Learning, & Technology
The Challenge Continues
March 30-April 1, 2003
Using the Internet as an Instructional Tool: ESL Distance Learning
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By: Ruth Reynard |
Abstract
This presentation will highlight the possibilities that Internet technology presents for the creation of an online, dynamic learning environment for language learners. Rather than simply use the Internet to deliver course content, the presenter will demonstrate the learning process can benefit from the interactive, self-directed and self-authoring potential of the technology.
Description
The applied use of technology in the teaching and learning process is not a new idea. In fact, the use of technology as a learning mediator or communication connector in distance learning is quite familiar in current educational and training programs. What is new, however, is the rate at which technology and technological possibilities are changing. The use of the Internet to delivery learning is fast becoming the preferred technology for distance learning due to its flexibility and global accessibility. A study of various Internet distance education sites, however, suggests that most educational web sites do not implement effective pedagogical approaches or provide valuable learning environments (Mioduser, Nachmias & Lahav, 2000).1 The main reason for this lack of implementation of effective pedagogical approaches is that most distance sites maximize the delivery of the Internet to distribute content and network groups of learners with little attention to the capabilities of Internet technology to function as an instructional "scaffold" for the actual learning experience. Scaffolding in this context refers to the possibility of hypertext (active embedded text links) technology to support learning by providing the learner with the ability to change course direction, and outcome and to embed and integrate information and self-directed resources through search and study tools. The implications for language learning are immense. This paper will highlight the differences in using the Internet as a tool of instruction and using it only to deliver content within a distance language-learning environment.
Proceeding